Fire and Ice
by BeccaBo73
Summary: On the way to Helm's Deep, Eowyn, young Eothan, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli are trapped in a snowstorm. As she faces her immortality, Eowyn must trust her heart and make some hard choices.
1. Chapter 1

**Fire and Ice**

The day had been crisp and cold, but unthreatening enough. Though clouds gathered, the conversation was fair. But a sudden and unexpected snowstorm had risen against us as we passed through the Gap of Rohan. Harsh winter was not uncommon in the Westfold but this was weather unheard of so far south.

As the men debated turning back or pressing forward, the White Mountains to the south of us let go a giant fall of ice and snow and an avalanche cut a small group of weary travelers off from the rest the people of Rohan. Eowyn's small group was made up of Aragorn, his dwarf companion Gimli, the elf Legolas, and the young messenger boy, Eothan. They had tried to press forward. But the horses - including Eowyn's beloved Windfola - had succumbed to the cold.

As Legolas did his gallant best to protect Eowyn and the boy from the shattering icy winds, Aragorn and Gimli had forced a path through the snow to the small shelter a mountain cave could provide. Though free from the harsh winds, they had still been stung by the freezing temperatures.

"We have no hope but that of rescue," was Gimli's grim proclamation upon their predicament. Eowyn's glare silenced any more words that would cause fear to the child's ears, but in her heart she knew he had been right. They could go no further. Aragorn and Legolas could only find enough tinder on the icy slopes to start a weak fire. Its warming power would be brief. All other small provisions for the journey had been cut off from them along with their traveling companions.

The young boy Eothan would not last the night, Eowyn knew this for sure. He had not been well when they began this journey, which is why he rode with the White Lady. His journey to Edoras had taken much of his strength and continuing on to Helm's Deep was going to be a dangerous journey for him under even the best of weather conditions. But he was determined to go to Helm's Deep...his mother had promised to find him there. The cold and snow had caused the fever to overtake his body and what little life that was left in him was fading fast. Her fears were confirmed by the look in Aragorn's eyes as he laid his healing hands on the boy's fevered brow. Her heart would not allow her to meet the Ranger's concerned gaze for a moment longer, so she busied herself with making Eothan as comfortable as possible.

Leaning back against the shelter with the boy in her arms, Eowyn allowed herself one deep breath, no more. If she gave in, she would collapse and though her freezing body ached for sleep and her mind for oblivion she could not give in to those desires, not yet - how could she seek sleep and peace when this child still suffered in her arms? She stroked Eothan's face, and tried to speak to him. He was so beautiful this child, his eyes calm even in certain death. For he was dying, she could tell, she could hear it in each laboured breath, see it in the way his eyes seemed to look through her rather than at her. Words seemed beyond her.

She did not know how long she sat with him. She kept a hand on his cheek - she told him what a brave young man he was. She told him he would have a place by the fire in the halls of their fathers, though she hardly knew if that was true. She told him the people of Rohan would remember him forever. She asked him if his mama sang him to sleep at night and his slight nod caused her to search her brain for a favorite song from her own childhood. She remembered one her mother used to sing to her, about the beauty of Rohan. Softly, her beautiful voice filled the small confines of the shelter.

_Land of bear and land of eagle  
Land that gave us birth and blessing  
Land that pulled us ever homewards  
We will go home across the mountains_

We will go home  
We will go home  
We will go home across the mountains

We will go home, singing our song  
We will go home...


	2. Chapter 2

_Hear our singing  
Hear our longing  
We will go home across the mountain_

We will go home  
We will go home...

Aragorn could not take his eyes off of her as the words of her song brought comfort not only to the young boy, but also to his travel weary companions. As she sang and stroked the young boy's face, he remembered the words her uncle had spoken to him earlier in their journey. Such sorrow she had seen in her life. Death and abandonment was almost commonplace. Her father, Eomund, was Chief Marshal of the Mark and was slain by orcs on the Eastern Marshes when she was very young, and she saw his body before they could clean it. King Theoden told him that she didn't speak for nearly a year after that. All who loved her feared she might die from despair, like her mother. But she survived. When her uncle fell under the spell of Saruman, the duty of caring for Theoden fell to Eowyn. For five years she watched her beloved uncle grow more frail and she felt helpless and useless. Grima, her uncle's counsellor who Eomer suspected of poisoning the King's mind, used cunning words to heighten her despair, and she began to believe that both she and the royal house of Rohan had lost their honor. Theodred died, Eomer was banished, and Eowyn was left alone with her ailing King. And now, here she was again watching death take it's toll on another she had come to care for.

He could tell that she was unconscious of the feelings she inspired in those around her. In the short time he had known her, he could see that the Lady Éowyn had no desire to have windows made into her soul, and fled from those who would try. After her many battles with the Wormtongue, she had learned to fear those who could see into the hearts of others. She feared their sight almost as much as she feared their protection. Yet somehow Aragorn knew that, will or nil, she would endure both before her course was run. He wondered if she was ever to be a symbol of survival of suffering to him. Could her happiness ever become real, or was it as elusive and improbable as his so often seemed?


	3. Chapter 3

As the hours passed, Eowyn's mind could not find the rest that seemed to have come to the others. Eothan, still clinging to life, slept quietly beside her while Gimli, Legolas, and Aragorn had taken their rest around the fire. Gimli had carried some harsh liquor in a flask at his belt along with his weaponry and he had offered it to her before his eyes closed in sleep. The drink had warmed and burned, but the flask was long since empty. The liquor's power no longer affected a warming in her limbs but still served to slightly dull her mind. Watching the final embers of the tiny fire fade, Eowyn felt the last feeling go out of her hands and feet, sensation stolen by the bitter chill. Her hope for their rescue had abandoned her long ago, despite the fact that Aragorn and Legolas believed that King Theoden and his men would find them. She had been called the White Lady of Rohan, The Ice Maiden of the Rohirrim. Now it seemed that these titles would become quite literally true.

She had been able to keep her fears buried as she cared for Eothan, but now that she was without a task she could not hold her feelings down and she started to cry. For what had become of her life and how it would soon end, but also for all the loss she had known. And for her own loss of innocence and her breaking heart. At first she made no sound, but soon her weeping grew in intensity, until she started to sob, taking in great gasps of air.

She felt a hand on her chin, forcing her head up. Aragorn was close to her - his hand remained under her chin, warming her skin. "Lady Eowyn," he said softly. She did not respond immediately and so he continued. "Please do not weep. There is no cause for weeping."

She laughed through her tears, a sound that was hollow to his ears. "Perhaps not," she said coldly, "for we may still die here. There is some consolation in that."

"We will not die," his tone was even and he looked her in the eye, reaching out to stroke her face. She caught his hand in her own and clung to it desperately, but lowered her eyes from his piercing gaze. It was as if he could see right into her. How did he know her so well? How could he see her so clearly? This stranger, with the deep eyes and voice, the strong hands and broad shoulders, how could he guess her feelings so accurately, when her uncle and brother barely suspected the storms she carried within?

He spoke again, "Look into my eyes, Éowyn." It was like her brother's tone and she knew to obey that voice. Slowly she grew calmer as she looked into his deep blue eyes. She had a focus; something to distract her from everything. Her sobs ceased, and her breathing returned to normal. His eyes looked, almost familiar, somehow, but. whatever it was, it would not come to her. "Do you trust my words?"

Her feelings overwhelmed her and she found her voice suddenly betray her heart, "I trust you, my Lord." The well she carried within her began to overflow, after years of being kept down, and she was unable to resist. His face came ever closer and soon the warmth of his sleep laden lips met the coldness of her own. The heat generated from his kiss consumed her and was hotter than any fire she had ever been near. She melted deeper into him, his hands leaving her face and wrapping around her slight frame. Her arms found their way around his neck and her fingers were lost in the darkness of his hair, and a low moan escaped his lips as they ravaged hers. Éowyn could feel herself slipping, into what she did not know. Aragorn was a man already bound, and her heart could not contain another wound. But he had been binding her to him with every kind word, every piercing glance she had felt herself sinking. She did not know how much further she could sink without harm. But still, she could not pull away from his embrace and the warmth it brought to her frozen body and spirit.

She knew not what might have happened next, for she heard clearly through the wind a voice calling from outside the shelter. Eowyn pulled herself from Aragorn's embrace as Legolas and Gimli rose quickly from their sleep, all five reacting with a mixture of panic and relief. None of them were foolish enough to stay silent. They called out to their rescuers and suddenly a voice she had thought never to hear again, called out, "Éowyn!" Her brother was first through the cave entrance and she jumped from her stupor, looking beyond Aragorn to the face she held most dear. She sprang from her place by the fire and ran to him. He embraced her, and she was lost in the warmth of his strong arms. He had found her. Nothing could be bad when her older brother was there. She looked up into his face, which was graced with a rare wide smile. Éomer's smile seemed to shower her with his love, and she wondered anew how she had survived without him.

"Have you come to harm?" He asked, searching her face while running his strong hands up and down along her arms to bring warmth to her cold body.

Shaking her head, she found her voice, "I did not think you would return." she whispered.

He gave her a piercing look and said, "You ought not let Gríma's lies poison your thoughts, sister. Mithrandir found us and led our search party here. King Theoden waits for us at Helm's Deep and his concern for your welfare is growing with each passing moment, I am certain. Come, let us get you into his waiting arms."

A wave of tiredness hit her as she tried to speak, and she started to sink under it, drowning in her own exhaustion. She felt Éomer catch her, and steady her slight frame. She felt shamed - she was uninjured and her brother was spending time on her while a child lay dying around them. "Eothan," she began, but saw that Aragorn had already swept the child up into his strong arms and was heading for the cave's entrance. He met her eyes only briefly before disappearing through the opening where Eomer had appeared.

TBC...


	4. Chapter 4

The arrival of the five lost companions at Helm's Deep brought joy to such a sorrowful place. King Theoden, whose worry for his niece seemed to have aged him many years in only a few days, gathered the Lady Eowyn into his arms and held her tightly before whisking her away to a room inside the Keep. She went almost willingly, which surprised both her brother and the King. Eothan was taken to another room and the healers were summoned, along with his fearful mother and young sister. The upcoming battle seemed to be disregarded as the people of Rohan rallied around their own and sought to bring them comfort.

Aragorn had not been able to speak with Eowyn since their rescue, but plainly sensed her torment. His face was marked with sorrow; it was rigid with it. Though the King of Rohan had made them comfortable in the shelter of Helm's Deep, Legolas could sense his disquiet. Knowing that they had a dark and difficult task ahead of them, he thought to ease his friend's sorrow, and so he approached and sat next to him in front of the fire.

Aragorn was loath to speak, and so Legolas opened the conversation. "I must confess, my friend, that my heart is troubled for the Lady Éowyn." Legolas noticed that Aragorn's grip onhis mug of alehad tightened. He said nothing, however, and so the elf continued, "I know, my friend, that you have a share of fear in this, though you will not betray it."

Aragorn looked at him in surprise, and said in a low tone, "I ought not to have attempted to conceal it from you. My heart forebodes that some great evil shall befall her." He paused, "Some greater evil than those she has already seen. And yet it must not be seen that I have too much care for this." Legolas knew then that they had reached the root of the matter. Arwen and his promise to her. The comfort he had offered to the Lady Eowyn had been a betrayal of that. But was it also a betrayal of his own heart? Or did his feelings for the White Lady run deeper than mere concern?

Aragorn spoke suddenly, "And yet, you too saw her last night, my friend. I know you were not sleeping as soundly as you claimed to be." Legolas smiled as his friend continued, "Such desperation screaming from her face, such fear. It was as if she feared death, yet welcomed it at the same time." His voice trailed off. Legolas saw pain in his friend's face, and waited for him to continue. Taking a deep breath, Aragorn said, "She is a woman brave and fair. Indeed she is the fairest mortal ever I have seen. I could not bear to see the pain that twisted her face. I tried to bring her some comfort, and my feelings betrayed me..."

"You are yet a man, Elessar." Legolas reminded him gently, not offering the scolding that Aragorn believed he so richly deserved. He had seen the way his Lord and the White Lady had looked at each other. Some, who did not know Aragorn as well as Legolas, would mistake his feelings for pity. But the elf knew that something more intrigued him about the fair shieldmaiden. It was not pity that kept drawing him into her fair company.

"I should have let her grieve in peace. Alone in silence, as she wished. But to have done other than I did was impossible. She has spent too much of her life alone with her pain. I know too well how that can shatter a spirit." Aragorn shook his head and looked down at the floor.

Legolas spoke; he hoped in comfort, "You did not create her despair, Aragorn. What ails her began long before this day."

"You have the right of it, my friend, loss and grief and too early and intimate a knowledge of men's evil has done that." Aragorn's eyes darkened again as he thought upon the tragedies of her young life. "And yet of whom did she remind you last night, Legolas?"

"Boromir. She reminded me of Boromir." Legolas was quick to answer. Almost too quick.

Aragorn nodded. "That is why I fear for her, Legolas. We know what despair drove Boromir to do - what could it do to her, who has walked a lonelier and colder road than he. And there can be no doubt in my mind that I have helped her along that road as much as any other."

Legolas looked at his friend, deciding whether this was the correct time to confront his feelings for Eowyn. "And it doesn't help that you are falling in love with her."

Aragorn's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed as he regarded the elf. "My heart does not stray." he hissed at him, before standing up and moving to look out the window.

Taking a deep breath, Legolas continued. "I have known Arwen since we were both children. I know of her love for you, and the feelings you have for her. But her father has sent her to the Undying Lands. And she did not disobey." Aragorn's hand came up to touch the Evenstar that hung around his neck. It shimmered in the light of the moon, but no longer shed any light of it's own. "The light has gone out, my friend. She is gone."

"I know." Aragorn said, dropping his hand from the pendant and turning back to the window. "I told her to go."

"She does not do anything that she doesn't wish to do, Aragorn." Legolas allowed his words to sink into his friends troubled mind. "She has the gift of foresight. She saw something that made it to difficult for her to stay." _Your love for the Lady Eowyn _was how that sentence should have ended, but Legolas knew he did not have to utter the words. Quietly he said. "She followed her heart, my friend. I think it is time that you followed yours."

Only silence and the crackle of the fire remained in the room between the two friends. Legolas tried his question again. "Do you not love her, Elessar?"

Aragorn sighed and turned back to his friend. "Yes, I do love her " He paused, removing the Evenstar from around his neck. As he lifted his head, the sight of torches in the distance caught his gaze. And the sound of the orc horn rang in his ears. Moving quickly, Aragorn said, "But I would not allow that to keep me from protecting her, for she deserves better than she has been given. There is much work to be done before we can speak again of love."


End file.
